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Sir Keir Starmer has asserted that the UK’s benefits system is fundamentally flawed, describing its reform as a “moral imperative.” His statement comes a day after a significant Labour revolt forced a government U-turn on proposed welfare cuts.
Addressing the Welsh Labour Party conference in Llandudno, the prime minister affirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining a welfare “safety net” for vulnerable individuals.
However, he cautioned against allowing benefits to “become a snare for those who can and want to work,” emphasizing the need for a system that incentivizes employment.
Despite the government’s revised stance on welfare reform, certain Labour MPs are advocating for further amendments, while the Unite union is calling for the complete withdrawal of the proposal.
Speaking at the conference in north Wales on Saturday, Sir Keir stated that addressing the “broken” benefits system was essential due to its “failing people every day,” leading to “a generation of young people written off for good and the cost spiralling out of control.”
“Fixing it is a moral imperative, but we need to do it in a Labour way,” he added, suggesting a distinct approach to reform.
The government’s initial proposals, aimed at reducing the welfare expenditure, entailed stricter eligibility criteria for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a benefit currently received by 3.7 million individuals with long-term physical or mental health conditions.
However, in response to internal dissent within the Labour party and the potential for defeat in the House of Commons, the government has announced that the more stringent criteria will only apply to new claimants.
The government has also reversed its decision to freeze the health-related component of Universal Credit, ensuring that payments will increase in line with inflation for existing recipients.
Furthermore, ministers have committed to conducting a review of the PIP assessment process, incorporating input from disability organizations.
A £1 billion support package designed to facilitate employment, initially slated for 2029, will be expedited.
Labour MP Diane Abbott told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a vote on the new plans would be tight, partly because backbenchers are still “upset about the lack of consultation” and because of “the notion of a two-tier benefit system”.
But former Labour justice secretary Lord Falconer told the programme that “sensible” changes to the welfare reforms were “pretty significant”, and that he believed opposition among Labour MPs was “shrinking and shrinking”.
Debbie Abrahams, the Labour MP who chairs the Work and Pensions Select Committee, told the BBC on Friday: “The concessions are a good start, they are very good concessions and they will protect existing claimants.
“However there are still concerns about new claimants. It would not be right for me not to do anything just to spare the prime minister an inconvenience.”
Ahead of Sir Keir’s conference speech, Unite called for the “entire welfare bill to be dropped and for the government to start again”, with general secretary Sharon Graham accusing Labour of “attacking the most vulnerable in our society”.
“The government’s latest plans for disabled benefits cuts are divisive and sinister,” she said.
“Creating a two-tier system where younger disabled people and those who become disabled in the future will be disadvantaged and denied access to work and education, is morally wrong.”
Steve Witherden says the new two-tier system still means huge benefit losses for disabled people.
As the PM marks a year in office next week – which he will spend grappling with crises – British politics finds itself at an inflection point
Simon Case says ministers “weren’t good enough at communicating” in the early days of the Labour government.
Keir Starmer has been personally calling some Labour MPs to win them over ahead of a vote next week.
The prime minster and his team are trying to repair relations with backbenchers over welfare cuts.
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